


Hearts

by CiciWeezil



Series: Counting Stars [2]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Gen, Narim's Little Brother
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-04
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-10-21 23:30:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17651756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CiciWeezil/pseuds/CiciWeezil
Summary: The story of Faults continues as Nala acclimates to his new life on Earth. He loves his new school, his new friends, videogames, basketball, and spending time with SG-1. He couldn't be happier.But the universe seems to think that he isn't meant to be.





	1. First Day

**Author's Note:**

> I had a dozen ideas for this story, and it's taken me awhile to finally continue. But I knew I would, one day. Nala has been nagging me to finish it, to finish his story, so here is the next installment. This series, Counting Stars, will be a three-parter. Part 1, Faults, is fully published. This is Part 2, Hearts, and it isn't as long as Faults (though I'm hoping the narrative is better as I've improved a lot since then). 
> 
> Enjoy, and please leave comments to let me know what you think.

Nala nervously tightened his grip on his new messenger bag as he followed Cassandra down a brightly lit hallway. ‘Messenger bag’. He liked that word. 

He studied their surroundings as they walked. The walls were lined with green metal boxes, each with a round knob on the front. Cassie had called them ‘lockers’ and shown him one that was specifically for his own use. Nala had easily learned the combination to open it, but thus far had nothing to put in it.

There were many posters in between the groups of lockers, some that stated school rules or policies on ‘bullying’. After learning from Daniel what the word meant in his first visit to Earth, Nala greatly disliked saying or hearing it. It was worse than the curse words O’Neill sometimes muttered under his breath.

One of the posters attracted Nala’s eyes more than the others. He stopped in front of it. A tall, thin young man in green and blue shirt and shorts was tossing an orange ball into a net above his head. The poster said, “Basketball Tryouts: September 12 @ 4 pm.” 

“Nala!” cried Cassie in exasperation. “You’re not going to make it to your first class if you don’t hurry up. You can look into the sports and clubs more later.”

Nala glanced at his watch. School had been in session for two weeks already, and today was his first day. The principal had greeted Nala and his brother and provided him with a schedule, a map of the school, and an orientation packet after Narim had finished registering him. She then asked Cassie, the class rep of their homeroom, to give him a quick tour of the school and show him to his first class. 

He’d already missed homeroom, which annoyed Cassie, who was supposed to lead the meetings, and only had about twenty minutes to get to his first class to meet his teacher and classmates. 

He sighed and followed Cassie, butterflies in his stomach. He liked the word ‘butterflies’ too, ever since Daniel had taken him to the museum with Cassie and Janet. 

Based on his age, Nala should have been placed in the ninth grade, at the most. But this was a private school, stuffy uniforms and all, with a history of accepting students as young as twelve, and based on Nala’s entrance exam scores, he’d been given a choice of skipping to the eleventh grade. He’d jumped at the chance to be in the same grade as his best friend, and had coincidentally been placed in her homeroom as well.

They reached Nala’s first block class, AP Chemistry, with fifteen minutes to spare. As a class rep, Cassie introduced Nala to the class.

“Hey, everyone,” said Cassie when the teacher gave her the floor. “this is the new student we’ve all heard about, Nala Caspari. He’s from Switzerland, and moved here a couple months ago.”

“Welcome, Nala,” said the teacher, Ms. Kumazec. “We’re glad to have you. We were just finishing up today’s lesson. Do you have a textbook yet?”

Nala shook his head. “Principal Weston said I will receive them tomorrow.”

A girl with with spiky blue hair gasped. “Oh my gosh, your voice is so gorgeous!”

Nala smiled meekly and looked down at his feet, which, to the girls, only made him looked more adorable.

“How old are you?” asked a skinny boy wearing glasses.

“Thirteen,” said Nala.

The entire class of sixteen-year-olds blanched.

“Woah, guess it’s not just the Asians who are smarter than us,” said a boy with a large nose and long blonde hair. 

“Gordon, we do not use stereotypes in this classroom.” said Ms. Kumazec with a stern voice.

Nala was then offered a seat next to the girl who’d called his voice gorgeous, and Cassie left, probably to go explain to her first block teacher why she was so very late. His new tablemate introduced herself as Mariana, and Nala quickly realized she was a lot smarter than she seemed. As soon as he sat down, Mariana plucked his schedule out of his hands. 

Ms. Kumazec had set them to work in partners to answer questions about the chapter they were on. It was all very easy (the Tollan were far beyond this level of chemistry), though Nala could tell a few of his classmates were struggling. Mariana, however, had already finished, and since it was his first day, Ms. Kumazec excused him from the activity. 

And so Nala had nothing to do but talk to Mariana. She didn’t say anything for a moment as she looked over his schedule. Nala didn’t mind. He’d already memorized it.

J. R. Bradner Academy (nicknamed Junior B-Cad), operated on a two-day alternating block schedule. Each student was required to take eight courses a year. On odd days (which were called ‘green days’, one of their school colors), students attended their first four courses. On even, or gold (their other school color), they went to their fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth courses. Both gold and green days followed the same basic formula: homeroom, first block, second block, study hall, lunch, third block, and fourth block. 

Nala’s schedule was thus: 

Green Days: AP Chemistry, Photography, Team Sports, and AP English Language.

Gold Days: AP Spanish, AP Statistics, AP U.S. History, and Theater.

“Hey, we’ve got five other classes together.” Mariana said. “I have all the same AP courses as you, and Theater, too. That’s a lot of AP courses for a thirteen year old.”

Nala raised his eyebrows, as she handed the paper back. Mariana had not given him the impression of being very studious. In fact, she seemed more of a ‘rebel’ type, with her blue hair, unknotted tie, and colorful bangles. “It’s a lot for you, too.” 

“Yeah, but I’m a genius so it’s no biggie.” The nonchalance in her voice made Nala wonder if she was joking or simply stating a fact. 

“Seriously, though,” Mariana continued. “it’s super awesome that you want to take Theater. We’ve only got two guys and both of them are pretty bleh, you know? But you seem alright, and you’re adorable, so all of the girls are going to love you.”

“That’s good, I guess?” said Nala.

Mariana giggled. “I like you, Nala. I think we’re gonna be great friends. And my first act as your friend will be to fill you in on everything you need to know for all of your AP classes. The teachers are all… nitpicky, to say the least. Even Ms. Kumazec wants our notebooks organized a certain way. But have no fear, because-”

A bell-like sound played over the loudspeaker at that moment.  
Mariana let out an exasperated sigh. “Stupid bell, interrupting me before I can finish my sentence. Anyways, meet me in the library after second block and I’ll help you organize your notebooks. We can probably get your textbooks there, too. The librarian, Mr. Senecharles, is pretty chill and if we ask nicely, he’ll do it for us.”

“Great, thanks,” said Nala as they parted ways outside the Chemistry lab. He wasn’t sure how he felt about Mariana - she was loud and confident, the exact opposite of himself. It didn’t seem like he had a choice, though, and besides, he wasn’t about to turn down her offer for assistance.

He turned his attentions to finding his next class, Photography. According to the map, it was on the opposite side of the school. On Tollana, he would have found his way around easily, but schools on his homeworld were much different, more simple in design, and Tollan students followed a strict flow of traffic that allowed everyone to get to class on time. 

No one suddenly stopped in the middle of the hallway to greet a friend, or yell over everybody’s heads. And no Tollan would ever dare to throw a pencil at anybody else. 

The offending pencil thrower, the blonde-haired boy from Chemistry, was caught by Ms. Kumazec, and given a verbal warning. Nala felt Gordon had gotten off too easy. On Tollan, he would have been dismissed from classes the rest of the day, a great embarrassment.

Nala was a couple minutes late to his Photography class, but, like his new Chemistry teacher, Mr. Owens was understanding. 

“The class is finishing up their first project for the semester, - Coming and Going - and I’m afraid it’s too much for you to do in such a short time,” said Mr. Owens after showing Nala his workstation. “I’ll have you complete a supplementary assignment, and you can participate in the next project when it comes around.”

Nala thanked him and was left alone for a few minutes to explore his new workstation. He had his own desktop computer, which was home to the newest version of Photoshop. There wasn’t much else, aside from a small white board that could be propped up on a stand. The rest of the table was empty.

Glancing around at the other students, he could see that their workspaces were much more cluttered. He couldn’t even see the girl at the desk behind him, as she was obscured by a large display board. The boy next to him, who Nala recognized from his previous class, had laid his board down on the desk, and was carefully pasting a photo to it.

“Here we go.”

Nala turned back to Mr. Owens, who had reappeared next to him, now holding a slightly used camera. 

“This is for you to use this year. It’s already checked out under your name.” Over the next ten minutes, Mr. Owens instructed Nala in the proper care and usage of the camera and it’s case. Nala already knew some of this, as Daniel and Jack had taken him on a camping trip over the summer. Daniel had shown him how to use a camera and they’d taken quite a few of the local wildlife and scenery.

Nala signed the contract stating that he accepted the responsibility of taking care of the camera and that he would pay for it if it was lost, damaged, or stolen. The camera was the first thing Nala put in his locker after class, knowing he wouldn’t get a chance to use it just yet.

Other than that, the rather large locker was almost empty. Nala closed it and made sure it was locked before making his way to the library.

* * *

“What’s up, Casper?” 

Nala studied his map, sighing as he realized he was in building eight. The library was in building three. 

“Hey, Lion King!” 

If he took a left, he’d leave this building, and he would find himself in the courtyard. He should be able to see building three from-

“Hey, man, I’m talking to you!” 

Nala struggled against the vice grip on his arm. 

“Let go of me!” Nala ordered. 

“Who do you think you are?” Gordon demanded, releasing him. “Some kind of Turkish prince? You think you can just go around ignoring people? I’ve been calling you for three minutes, bro.”

It took Nala less than a second to realize that Gordon was, in fact, being somewhat truthful. Someone had been calling names like ‘Casper’ and ‘Lion King’. Nala rolled his eyes.

“Perhaps if you’d bothered to use my name I would have noticed,” said Nala haughtily.

“Whoa, sorry,” said Gordon, holding up his hands in surrender. “They’re just jokes, bro.”  
Nala eyed him warily. “My apologies. I thought you were making fun of me.”

“It’s all cool,” said Gordon with an easy smile. “I didn't mean to grab you so hard, but you were totally on cloud nine.”

Nala sighed. “It’s fine. Did you need something?”

Gordon shrugged. “I was gonna tell you that the best way to get to the library is to cut through the west courtyard.”

“How did you know I was going to there?” asked Nala.

“Mari’s got a loud mouth,” Gordon said with another shrug. “Come on, I’ll show you the way.”

Nala followed Gordon out through the building and out into the west courtyard. From there, they made a left and entered the library through a side door.

“There you are!” cried Mariana from one of the tables. She ignored a nearby student shushing her. “Geez, I was starting to think you’d bailed on me.”

“No, I was lost.” Nala admitted. “This school is much larger than it looks. Thankfully Gordon was there to help me.”

Mariana crossed her arms. “Yeah, he’s helpful like that.”

Gordon checked his watch. “I gotta go, guys. Have to study for Chem.”

“See ya later,” replied the blue haired girl.  
“Are you two friends?” asked Nala as Mariana led him past the bookshelves.

“Yeah, we’re both huge nerds.” Mariana said, showing him down a small corridor in the back of the library. “But lately he’s been a little stand-offish. Everytime he sees me he suddenly has something else to do. And he’s been turning down all of my invites to study at my house. He doesn’t even want to play D&D anymore.”

“What’s D&D?” asked Nala. A moment later he slammed into her. He collected himself and gave her an annoyed look.

“You don’t know what D&D is?” 

“No?”

Mariana sighed. “Don’t worry. That’s fixable.” She opened a door that was labeled ‘Study Room 13.’

“These are the private study rooms. I say private, but they’ve all got glass windows so that the monitors can see whether we’re really studying or not. As long as we don’t get too loud, no one will bother us.”

“Neat,” said Nala. “Do you come here a lot?”

“All the time,” said Mariana. “There’s a group of us that uses this one every day, but the others are in the computer lab today. Come on, then. Sit down and I’ll show you the ropes.”

Over the next twenty minutes, Mariana showed Nala exactly how each of his teachers would want his notebooks organized. He’d already received the required list of materials, and only needed to set them up the correct way. His chemistry and history teachers required a spiral notebook, each with a table of contents, dated pages, and cornell style notes. His photography, English, and theater teachers required binders with specific tabs. His statistics teacher required a composition notebook and a folder with prongs and pockets. 

“No clue what your Marine Bio teacher wants,” said Mariana. “I’ve never taken that class.”

“I’m sure he’ll explain everything.” said Nala. “Maybe he wants it the same as Ms. Kumazec.”

“She.” Mariana corrected him. “It’s Mrs. Rodgers. She’s one of the best teachers. I had her for AP Biology last year.”

From there, Mariana took him to Mr. Senecharles, who gladly gave Nala a brand new copy of each of his textbooks. They were his to keep, as he’d paid for them, Mr. Senecharles told him, but only the first one was discounted. If he needed a replacement, he’d have to pay for it in full. 

There were a total of seven of them, all different sizes. Mariana helped him carry them and his notebooks to his locker.

“Great part is, you only need your stuff for AP English, because you don’t need anything for Team Sports but your gym uniform. Did you bring running shoes?” asked Mariana.

“Yes, they were on the list. I haven’t got my gym uniform yet, though.” Nala replied.

“You will,” said Mariana. “Coach Guidry will give you one for free. You can buy a second one, too, if you want.”

“I think one will do fine,” said Nala. “I’ve only got the class twice a week.”

“Whatever suits you,” said Mariana with a shrug. “Let’s head to the cafeteria. It’s nearly lunchtime and the lines are super long.”

“Actually, I brought my lunch,” said Nala, pulling a lunch bag from his messenger bag. 

“Dude, how much can you fit in that thing?” asked Mariana, amazed. “Well, like I said, whatever suits you. I’m gonna go eat some cardboard pizza.”

* * *

The cafeteria was rather crowded, but it didn’t matter. After grabbing a tray, Mariana dragged Nala out of the noisy hall and to their English classroom. 

“Hey, Dr. Breitenstein!” Mariana greeted as they entered the room. 

“Good afternoon, Mariana,” said a tall woman in black framed glasses and a scarf, sitting at a round table at the back of the large classroom with two other students. It was the only table with normal chairs at it.

The rest of the furniture included a table with exercise balls, a taller table with bar stools, a low-lying table with cushions, a couple rocking chairs with a stand between them, and two bean bag chairs with lap boards. A podium stood at the front near the board, with a large, plain area rug next to it, separating the front of the classroom from the tables in the middle of the classroom. At the very back, past where Dr. Breitenstein sat, was a library, five computers, and a storage room door.

“I see you brought a guest,” said Dr. Breitenstein.

“This is Nala,” said Mariana. “He’s your new student, and he’s from Switzerland.”

Dr. Breitenstein reached out her hand to shake Nala’s, and he returned to gesture. Her fingers were long and slender.

“A pleasure to meet you,” she said. “I’m the AP English teacher and the theater teacher.”

“And the same to you,” Nala replied. “I have both of those classes.”

Dr. Breitenstein smiled, lighting up the whole room.

“With the pleasantries out of the way,” Mariana said, sitting down and pulling Nala with her. “Nala doesn’t know what D&D is.”

The other two students, a boy and a girl, looked devastated. The boy even feigned fainting.

“I know, it’s bad,” said Mariana, patting the boy’s arm in comfort. “But it’s treatable.”

Dr. Breitenstein laughed lightly and retrieved a few boxes from a cabinet. “We’ve only got thirty minutes left of lunch, so let’s make the best of our time. You’ve come at a great time, Nala. We were just about to change campaigns. It’s Tim’s turn to DM. You can be a healer until you get the hang of things.”

“Uh… okay,” Nala said.

That was all the group needed to hear, and Nala was soon bombarded with the intricacies and magic of the world of Dungeons and Dragons. While it could be very tedious at times, he found it rather charming and fun. They only had enough time to create characters, but his new friends’ and teacher’s enthusiasm over the game was enough to make him want to return the next day.

The bell was ringing before they knew it, and Nala was racing across the campus to try to find the gym.

“Oof!” Nala landed on his bottom after slamming into something hard.

“Yo, Casper!” said a familiar voice. “Guess we’re even now, bro. Need a hand?”

Nala looked up to see Gordon reaching down to help him up. Nala took the offered hand. “Sorry, I should have been paying more attention.”

“Hakuna Matata, dude.” Gordon assured him. “At least we’re on better terms now, right? You got gym right now?”

“Team Sports,” said Nala.

“No way!” cried Gordon. “Me, too, man. Come on, the locker rooms are this way.”

Gordon showed him to the boys’ locker rooms. “Pool’s through there, but we only use it a couple times in Team Sports. The gym is that way, and that door leads straight to the tennis and basketball courts.”

“There’s a basketball court?” asked Nala curiously.

Gordon shrugged. “Yeah, but the teams use the gym inside. Just easier that way, you know?”

A tall man in shorts and an athletic shirt stepped inside from the door leading to the gym just as the bell rang. “Come on, gentlemen, two minutes! Coach Hernandez says the girls are already finished!”

“Yo, Coach! We got a new guy!” called Gordon.

Coach Guidry walked over to them. “Nala Caspari, right? Welcome to Junior B-Cad. Tell me your size and I’ll get you a uniform. First one’s free.”

Nala followed him to the storage room, where he was given green and gold gym shorts and a green and gold t-shirt that depicted the school mascot: Edwin the Elk. Nala changed out of his school uniform and into the gym clothes quickly, and then followed the other students to the gym.

Coach Guidry was fun and energetic, but led a fast-paced class and anyone who wasn’t paying attention could easily miss an important instruction. In this way, he easily held their attention and set them to warm-ups and stretches before splitting them into four teams.

“The past few weeks, we’ve been playing a lot of team building games. You’ve all learned how to work together, whether you like each other or not. Now, it’s time to focus on the rules of the game. We were supposed to start with soccer, but since it rained this morning, the field is soaked, so today, we’ll be playing four-way dodgeball.”

The group cheered and quickly settled into their spaces.

“Might not want to stand so close to the line, bro,” said Gordon, who was on a different team.

Nala backed up some to his teammates, none of whom looked to happy to have him. He turned to one of the nicer-looking girls.

“Um… what is dodgeball?” he asked.

“You’ve never heard of dodgeball?” she asked, incredulous.

“I’m not from here,” he said.

The girl spoke very fast as she explained the rules. “Oh, well, it’s really easy, but the most important part is to not get hit by a ball. If you do, you’re out. The last team with a member still standing wins. If you catch a ball, the person who threw it is out. If you’ve got good aim, try throwing a ball at the other team. If it hits someone, they’re out, but if they catch it, you’re out.”

Nala nodded. Each team had been given four balls to start with, and there were eight more on the dividing lines. 

As soon as the bell whistled, there was a flurry of movement as some students dove for the balls in the middle, and those who already had some aimed, and tossed. The defenseless students jumped out of the way. Within seconds, three students were out and trudging over to the sidelines.

Nala swerved as a ball zipped past him. He glared at Gordon, who had thrown it. The older boy shrugged. Moments later, Nala noticed a ball flying towards him. He stepped forward and reached out, snatching it out of the air and pulling it to his chest.

“Jameson! You’re out!” called the coach. “Caspari caught your ball!”

“Nice one!” said the girl from earlier. “Now throw it at the other teams!”

Nala looked at the other three teams. There was only one person he wanted to get now. Steadily, he took aim, and tossed it across the line.

“Gah!” cried Gordon as a ball hit him in the back.

“Ha!” cried a boy from Nala’s team. “Nala got you! You’re out, Gordon!”

“Great shot, Nala! But just know, my vengeance will be your worst nightmare!” Gordon left to the sidelines, laughing maniacally.

“He is so dramatic,” said another of Nala’s teammates.

Nala continued to dodge and throw several more times before he was finally hit. He and Emma, the girl who’d explained the rules to him, were the last ones in their team. Gordon’s team and Jameson’s team had both been eliminated. It was just Nala and Emma vs. a boy in Team 4 named Mauritio. 

Just seconds after Mauritio had hit Nala, Emma managed to catch a ball Mauritio had thrown, eliminating him.

“Alright, great job! Team 3 wins! Now, let’s mix and play another round!”

With that, they created new teams and started again. Nala found the game to be a lot of fun, but sometimes frustrating and competitive.

Finally, Coach Guidry blew his whistle. “Take a lap, get water, and get changed! Bell rings in five minutes!”

“Take a what?” asked Nala.

“A lap,” said Gordon, as though that explained everything. 

Nala still didn’t understand, but he followed Gordon. They ran around the perimeter of the gym once, and then lined up at the water fountain. After a drink, they returned to the locker rooms to change. 

Nala’s locker was close to Gordon’s, so they could talk as they changed. 

“So a lap is running around the perimeter of the gym?” Nala asked.

“Uh, yeah,” said Gordon. “And outside, it means we run around the track. The number of laps is how many times you run around. Like two laps, you go around two times.”

Nala nodded as he straightened his tie. If had taken him many tries to finally get it right when Daniel was teaching him, but now he did it like a pro.

The bell rang, dismissing them to their next class. Nala found Dr. Breitenstein’s class a lot easier than his other classes, since he’d already been there. Mariana was already inside, sitting in one of the bar stools at the high table. Her bag was sitting in the one next to her.

“Over here, Nala!” she said, moving her bag and patting the seat. Nala stepped up into the stool and took out his newly organized binder and textbook.

“Oh, good, you’ve already got your supplies,” said Dr. Breitenstein. She handed him a novel titled, The Great Gatsby. “This is the book we started last week. Everyone should have read through chapter 2 over the weekend.”

“Emphasis on the ‘should’.” said Mariana when Dr. Breitenstein walked away. “This book is really hilarious. American culture in the early 1900s at its best.”

Over the summer, Nala had spent much of his time at the library, where he’d read dozens of books in every genre, starting with a list that Daniel had given him (most were about anthropology, archeology and languages), followed by one from Samantha (which was full of nonfiction books about everything from black holes to combustion engines). 

This soon started a trend. From O’Neill he’d been told to read every soldier book under the sun, including The Things They Carried and The Art of War. Dr. Frasier gave him several teen books to read. Teal’c only had two books on his list: an encyclopedia and a novelization of one of the Star Wars movies. Even General Hammond had recommended a few, such as 1984 (which had given Nala nightmares) and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

After talking to the librarian, he’d also read a few classics, like Le Miserable and Beowulf, along with some children’s books like Pollyana and Winnie the Pooh.

Cassie’s list was the most practical, as she’d added every book she’d had to read for school. Sadly, The Great Gatsby was not one of them.

So it was that Nala couldn’t participate in the discussion that day. Instead, he was allowed to read the first two chapters while everyone else talked. As he read, he took notes in his binder. He’d learned from Daniel how to analyze works of fiction and nonfiction, and written a few essays in practice.

“You’re done already?” asked one of the boys when Nala raised his hand.

“It was only two chapters,” said Mariana.

“But it’s like, so hard to understand!” the boy said.

“Actually, the language is rather simple,” said Nala. “While it is still very different from today’s American English, this story was written and set in the 1920s, which was an era of many changes in American culture. So far, it’s really given me a good look at how the transformation from the eighteenth century to today came to be. I mean, how did we go from The Scarlet Letter to The Princess Diaries?”

“Did you really just compare those two?” asked Mariana.

“Do you deny that they have many similarities?” Nala asked. 

“I don’t deny that they do, but Scarlet Letter is more like a tragedy than a girly pop culture novel.” said Mariana. “It’s centered around a scandal.”

“And yet, at the time it was published, it was the era’s equivalent of a pop culture novel.” Nala said. “And I’m sure it received some backlash since it was about a priest and his… misdeeds.”

“I do believe this was a discussion about the Great Gatsby.” said Dr. Breitenstein before Mariana could comment. “I enjoyed that rabbit trail, but let’s turn around before we fall into Wonderland.”

The bell rang just then, and most students sighed in relief.

“Well, Nala, I am very excited to have you in my class,” said Dr. Breitenstein. “I hope you bring that analytic mind to Theater tomorrow.”

“I will,” he promised. He then said goodbye to Mariana and Dr. Breitenstein.

On his way to the front of the school, he made sure to stop at his locker for the books he would need that night. He wished he could take all of it home and read it, but he didn’t have enough space. Instead, he settled for his Chemistry, Photography, and English textbooks and notebooks so that he could start catching up on what he’d missed.

Narim and Daniel were waiting in Narim’s car in the school’s driveway, which Daniel called a car ramp. 

“How was your first day?” Narim asked.

“Better than I expected,” said Nala. “I kept getting lost, but I think I’ve made at least two new friends.”

“That’s wonderful,” said Narim. “Tell me about them.”

“There’s a girl named Mariana,” said Nala. “She’s got blue hair and she’s extremely intelligent. We played Dungeons and Dragons during lunch.”

“What is that?” asked Narim.

“It’s a fantasy table-top game,” said Daniel. “My colleagues and I used to play on days we weren’t making much progress at the dig sites. I’ll tell you more later.”

“It was really fun. I also met a boy named Gordon,” said Nala. “I didn’t like him at first, but he turned out to be nice. He and Mari are friends, but I think Gordon has a crush on her. Mari said he’s been acting weird around her lately, so I think he’s just too nervous to talk to her.”

“How long did it take you to figure that out?” asked Daniel.

“An hour or two,” said Nala. 

“So I guess you’re excited to go back tomorrow?” asked Narim.

Nala grinned. “Absolutely!”


	2. The Best of Life

Tau’ri schools turned out to be far more interesting than Tollan schools. Nala was allowed to be creative and did not have to be conform to any standard of personality. He loved it. 

All of his classes were fun, and rather easy. Although he wished they were a bit more challenging, the light coursework allowed him to focus on other aspects of his life - basketball, his new friends, school events, Dungeons and Dragons, and most importantly, his family.

It was now October, and the stores had completely transformed into haunted houses. It had taken Nala and Narim some time to get used to, but he was finally starting to enjoy the Halloween spirit, especially after the long discussions about the origin of the holiday that he and Daniel had had.

“What are you up to, Nala?” asked Daniel from behind him. 

Nala sat criss-cross on the couch with a laptop in his lap, and didn’t glance up as the older man sat next to him. 

“I’m writing a program,” said Nala, simply. “It’s a game.”

Daniel leaned closer and squinted at the numbers and codes on the screen. “Looks fun.”

Nala chuckled. “It will be. I’m basing it off of the current campaign my friends and I are in.”

“In D&D?” asked Daniel, and he smirked. “Are you still that weakling Druid? The healer one?”

Nala scoffed, and elbowed him. “Weakling? I’ll have you know my party would all have been dead by now if it weren’t for me. Multiple times.”

Daniel’s attempts to hold in his laughter failed. 

“Oh, come on! Who chooses an Elf Druid for their first character?” asked Daniel.

“I do,” said Nala. “And if you had to go to battle against him, you would lose. Horrendously.”

“Well,” said Daniel. “Narim said you’ve been at this for hours… Why don’t you take a break and we can play a game that’s already complete?”

Nala stopped typing for a moment and pretended to consider this. Truthfully he’d already saved his work. “Mmm… okay.” Closing the laptop, he set it on the coffee table and jumped up to turn on his Nintendo 64, and set up two controllers and Mario Kart for them to play.

“I always wondered why they chose such a strange shape for these controllers,” said Daniel.

“Beats me,” said Nala, pressing start on the title screen. “Rainbow Road?”

“That will take forever,” said Daniel.

Nala shrugged. “Are you in a rush?”

Daniel smiled and conceded, choosing to be Luigi, while Nala picked Yoshi.

Halfway through the race, Schroedinger hopped onto couch behind Daniel and started to sniff his face.

“Gah! Your whiskers are tickling me, Schro!” Daniel cried, while Luigi swerved on the screen. “Did Nala put you up to this?”

“Good kitty,” said Nala, smiling evilly.

Needless to say, Schroedinger purred and rubbed his body against Daniel’s face, slipping down and settling himself into his lap, with his head on his hands.

“Yes!” cried Nala, punching the air in triumph as he crossed the finish line.

“Rematch,” demanded Daniel. 

“Not a chance,” replied Nala, standing up. “I’ve got homework to do.”

 

“It’s Saturday,” said Daniel, not believing him. 

“And I didn’t finish it all last night,” said Nala. He picked up his bag from where it lay near the TV set.

Daniel sighed. “Anything interesting?”

“Chemistry homework,” Nala told him. “And an essay for U.S. History.”

“Boring stuff, then,” concluded Daniel.

“I think it’s fascinating,” said Nala. “The history, I mean. A little sad, yes, but your people have come a long way.”

Daniel watched him for a moment before speaking. “I like to think they’re your people now, too.”

Nala stopped and gave him a small smile. “I’m still getting used to some things, but I think I’m going to enjoy being a Tau’ri.”

Daniel nodded solemnly. “Good, because if, for some reason, you decided to leave, then I’d never be able to teach you how to drive.”

Nala rolled his eyes. “I already know how to drive.”

“Reading books about it and watching other people do it is completely different from actually being behind the wheel yourself,” Daniel assured him.

Nala chuckled and turned his book to the periodic table. “I’m quite surprised that the Tau’ri haven’t advanced in technology, seeing that their knowledge of Chemistry is quite expansive.”

“Well, there’s a lot that’s held us back,” said Daniel. “Religion, for one, led to more than one dark age.”

Nala nodded. “Blind faith is powerful. That’s how the Goa’uld became what they are today.”

They both became quiet for several minutes, as Daniel continued to pet the cat and Nala rapidly solved some mathematical Chemistry problems. Nala suddenly found himself unable to hold it back anymore.

“They’ve taken so much from us,” Nala said, slapping his pencil against his book.

“Yeah, they have,” said Daniel.

“I mean…” Nala put his head in his hands. “The destruction of Tollan was our own fault, and we saved most of our people. Our civilization was going to go on. We had hope… and then they destroyed it all. My people want nothing to do with me.”

There was movement next to him as Daniel took the Chemistry book from his lap and pulled him close. “Nala, there is no excuse for what the Goa’uld have done. They’ve destroyed countless worlds and killed hundreds of thousands, enslaved twice that many, and messed with the genetic makeup of an entire race.”

“Why can’t we stop them?” Nala asked quietly, listening to Daniel’s voice and the beating of his heart.

“We will,” said Daniel. “It’ll take time, guts, allies and advancement in technology, but one day we’ll bring them to their knees. We will win, and make them pay for all the people they’ve hurt.”

Nala buried his face in Daniel’s chest, relaxing finally. The doctor’s words were a comfort. He knew that the Goa’uld had hurt him, too. They’d taken away the woman he’d loved, and he knew Daniel would stop at nothing until he did exactly what he’d just promised Nala.

**********************  
“You cannot do that!” cried Gordon from behind the DM screen.

“Can, too!” argued Mari. “Istana is level 4. She’s perfectly capable of performing this spell.”

Gordon squinted at something in front of him, and they heard the turning of pages as he looked through the manual. Finally, he sighed. “Fine, you need to roll a 15, though.”

Mari smirked, and rolled her d20. “Heck, yeah!”

“You’re kidding me,” said Nala. “Another 20? Your dice must be weighted.”

“Okay, fine,” said Gordon. “You succeed in casting the spell, but-”

“No, no buts!” cried Michael from the other end of the table. “You two always do this. No buts!”

Gordon gave them his best Cheshire smile. “-but you end up turning the entire forest to ash, allowing the goblins nearby to spot you. They are now headed right towards you.”

“And our healer is up in the mountains with the wise man,” said Dr. Breitenstein. 

“You guys are screwed,” said Nala, silently thankful that he was said healer.

“Sorry, guys…” said Mari.

“Too bad you used your most powerful spell already,” said Michael.

The assault was relentless, and most of the team was killed, except for Michael’s ranger, who managed to convince the goblins that he, a Halfling, was also a goblin. 

“Day 28,” said Michael. “They still have no idea.”

Nala rolled his eyes. “And how do you expect to get back to me in this situation?”

“Ever thought that maybe he decided to abandon you?” asked Mari, who was currently creating a new character.

“It’s Mari and Gordon’s fault this even happened,” said Michael.

“Let’s face it,” Mari said. “This is not the craziest thing anyone in this game has ever done.”

“Yeah,” Gordon agreed. “Remember that time that I seduced the dragon?”

“You did that?” asked Nala.

“I’d prefer we not talk about that,” said Dr. Breitenstein. “My character’s hair was singed eight times because of that thing.”

The bell rang at that moment, and the group packed up their things and headed out the door.

*****************************  
Nala carefully completed the design on his mask before showing it to Dr. Breitenstein. 

“Very nice,” she said. “You’ll make a fantastic wolf.”

“Are we really putting a jungle in the middle of a haunted house?” asked a boy from across the room.

“It’s not a haunted house,” said Mari. “It’s supposed to be an adventure house. Each group is supposed to create a space based on a book. The most immersive one wins. Only the BETA club is doing anything scary.”

“Yeah, why did they get dibs on Frankenstein?” asked the boy. “And we got the Jungle Book?”

“I wanted Swiss Family Robinson,” said Mari. “We could have done an awesome set-up with the stairs, but you and your friends thought it would be too hard.”

“Okay, you may have been right,” said the boy. 

Mari glared at him and continued to work on her Kaa costume. “And that’s why you get to be Mowgli.”

Nala held in a chuckle. None of them had wanted to be the half-dressed main character from the book, but they’d all agreed that it would be incomplete without him. Mari had come to the rescue by convincing everyone to do nominations, followed by a vote, and had quickly nominated the boy who’d caused them to end up with the Jungle Book. It was a unanimous vote.

“Do most schools do this sort of thing?” asked Nala.

Mari shrugged. “I dunno. Not the ones one TV. They all do actual haunted houses. But half our school doesn’t celebrate Halloween, so a haunted house wouldn’t be appropriate. Besides, blood and gore is overrated. The book theme is way more interesting.”

“Would’ve been even cooler if we’d done Harry Potter,” said a girl painting scenery in the corner.

“Yeah, the Book Club got it first,” said Mari. “And the football team decided to do Greek Myths, for some reason. I’m pretty sure they just want an excuse to show off their muscles.”

“They’re nothing to sneeze at,” Nala said quietly.

“Yeah, whatever,” said Mari. “You can have all the muscles you want, Caspari, but it’s not attractive to me. I prefer… curves.”

“So, is this the moment we both admit that we’re gay?” whispered Nala.

“Probably,” said Mari. “I just don’t know how Gordon is going to take it.”

“So you know he has a crush on you?” asked Nala.

“What?” Mari looked genuinely surprised. 

Nala pursed his lips. “Oops.”

Mari opened her mouth in disbelief. “He has a-”

He was saved by the bell.

“This conversation is not over!” Mari cried as Nala bolted out of the classroom.  
*********************

“It smells so good,” said Nala, breathing in deeply. Silent Night played quietly on the stereo.

“Is it possible to get high off of a fir tree?” asked Jack.

Teal’c and Narim gave him confused looks, though Sam and Daniel laughed. 

“If that were true, I think Schroedinger would be going nuts right now,” said Nala. 

Truthfully, the fluffy cat was sitting on the couch, eyes on the Christmas tree and tail twitching.

“That’s it for ornaments,” said Daniel. “Where is the star?”

“Schroedinger is sitting on it,” said Sam, pulling it out from under him. “I can’t see that as being very comfortable.”

She handed the star to Narim, who offered it to Nala. 

“You do it,” said the boy. “I’m not tall enough anyways.”

“That’s why they invented step-stools,” said Jack. 

Nala gave him a look before scooping up his cat and snuggling him.

“Christmas movie anyone?” asked Sam after Narim had put the star on the tree. 

All of SG-1 had brought over their favorite Christmas movies, including Teal’c, who had somehow discovered The Nightmare Before Christmas. They chose the classic stop-motion Rudolph and gathered around the TV to watch it.

Teal’c and O’Neill each took an armchair, while the rest of them took the couch. There was a very small amount of space between the arm of the couch and Daniel, and Nala ended up sitting half in his lap. Daniel didn’t seem to mind, though, wrapping an arm around him as the cheerful music began.

**********************  
“What are you doing?” 

Nala glanced behind him to find Narim standing in the doorway of his bedroom. 

“Making a checklist for my senior year,” Nala explained. “The school counselors came around to tell us about everything we need to do next year as seniors. I know it’s still a few months away, but I thought I’d start now.”

Narim stepped closer and studied the paper Nala had pinned to the corkboard above the desk. Next to it was a cat-themed calendar, which showed it was April 18.

“That’s a long list,” said Narim. “They expect you to be able to do all this in a year?”

“The counselors will help us, and I’ll need you, too, mostly for paperwork…” Nala paused. “But I know you’ve never gone through this progress, so I was thinking I’d ask Daniel to help.”

He received a small smile in return. “I won’t take offense to that, Nala. Looking at this list of yours, I have no idea where to begin, but I know Daniel will.”

Nala nodded. “So, how are you and Sam?”

Narim cleared his throat. “We’re fine. Work has kept us from going out very much, but the few times a month that we do are… great.”

“You really need to learn more adjectives,” said Nala, earning himself an eye roll from his older brother. “And you know, you don’t have to be so weird with me about your relationships. I know there’s a big age-gap between us, but we’re still brothers. We can still talk about things like that, right?”

Narim looked away for a moment. “It’s not the age difference, Nala. I’m not trying to be your father. I could never replace him… I just… I haven’t been the older brother that I should have been to you.”

“Is that why you’ve been walking on eggshells around me?” asked Nala.

Narim blinked. “That is a strange but accurate metaphor…”

“I just learned it last week,” Nala admitted. 

With a sigh, Narim looked him in the eye. “I’ve failed you, Nala. I abandoned you… allowed your home to be destroyed… I let the closest thing to a grandfather you had get killed…”

“You gave me a cat,” Nala offered positively. 

“Nala, I’m being serious,” Narim said exasperatedly. He sat down on Nala’s bed and held his head in his hands.

Nala took a deep breath. “Alright, fine. You did abandon me. I was nine. Our parents were dead. Our planet was being destroyed. And you left me on a stupid ship so you could go be a damn martyr. I thought you were dead.”

Narim nodded, unable to speak.

“But then… you came back,” Nala said, the tears forming in his eyes. “You came back and you gave me the first animal I’d ever seen. You came back and took me to a new home where we could be together. You came back and you made me feel special.”

Narim looked up at him, shocked.

Nala sniffed and continued. “You made me feel loved again. You made sure to always be there when I returned home from school. You could have left me in that home with the other orphans. We’re the first brothers in generations of Tollans. There was no law that forced you to take care of me just because of our blood relation. But you did. I thought you’d learned from your mistake, and I forgave you. You were my big brother.

“And then, the whole planet blew up again, and I know you think it’s your fault, but the choice you made you made for the greater good. You made sure to get me to safety, and then you saved as many people as you could. You risked your life to get that data for the SGC. But I felt like you’d abandoned me again, and I wasn’t sure how I would survive on this planet without you.”

“Nala, I…” 

Nala didn’t let him finished. “And then you came back. When I heard your voice, I thought I was just imagining things. But it was really you. My big brother. And you’ve been with me ever since… And I know that our best chance is no longer with our own people. It’s here, with the Tau’ri. And honestly, I’m happier here than I ever was as a Tollan. I miss our parents, but I think they’d both be happy for us.”

Nala wiped the tears from his eyes. “You’ve made mistakes, Nary, but everyone does, and yeah, one of those choices led to the end of the world… but I forgive you and maybe one day, the rest of the Tollan will forgive you, too. But even if they don’t, you need to know that I will always be on your side. I love you, Narim.”

Narim stood up and pulled him into a hug. “I love you, too, Nala.”

They pulled away, and Narim put a hand on each of his shoulders. “I want you to know that I am so proud to be your older brother. I know I wasn’t there for you before, but watching you grow up these past few years has been the most wonderful thing I have ever done, and I can’t wait to see how far you go.”

Nala smiled. “The Tau’ri say that the sky is the limit, but I don’t think that’s true. The universe is infinite, and I want to see it all.”

Narim leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead. “Just don’t forget to come back every now and then… you know, for Schroedinger’s sake.”


	3. Broken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Neither rain nor snow nor lightning nor congestion shall keep me from writing and updating.
> 
> ***Trigger Warning***  
> This chapter includes a character having a panic attack. It's nothing too serious, but I don't think it would be fair to not give warning about this sort of thing for people who may be adversely affected by reading it.

Dr. Frasier scribbled something down on the clipboard she was holding, while Nala sat on the examination table in the middle of the infirmary of the SGC. 

“So… good news or bad news?” asked Nala awkwardly.

“Everything looks normal,” said Dr. Frasier. “You’re a healthy, growing teenager. And your body seems to be reacting normally to the latest inoculations as well. You’re free to go.”

“Great!” cried Nala, hopping off the examination table. He turned to Narim. “Can I see Daniel before we leave?”

“SG-1 is off-world at the moment,” said Narim. “I’m afraid he won’t be back for several-”

The alarm blaring interrupted him.

“Unscheduled incoming wormhole,” came the sergeant’s voice over the intercom.

Seconds later the phone in the infirmary rang, and Dr. Frasier called her team over to prepare an isolation room. 

“How many teams were off-world?” asked one of the doctors. 

“Just one,” replied another.

“SG-1,” said Nala as his heart sank.

“I’m sure it’ll be okay, Nala,” said Narim, stepping forward.

But in that moment, Daniel entered the room. He looked normal, except for the expression on his face.

“Daniel!” cried Nala, running to him.

“No, Nala!” said O’Neill, holding him back. “You can’t touch him. Stay back.”

“Why?” Nala cried. “What happened? Who did this?” 

“Don’t worry, Nala,” Daniel told him, his steps never wavering as he went straight to isolation. “I’ll be okay.”

“Daniel!” Nala shouted, fighting to get away, to get to Daniel, with every ounce of strength he had.

“Nala, you have to calm down,” Narim said, appearing in front of him. “It’s going to be okay. Just calm down.”

Nala barely registered the prick in his arm. His eyes slid closed, and all he saw was darkness.

* * *

Nala opened his eyes and breathed in deeply, registering the dim light on the bedside table. Sitting up, he glanced around and saw two photos, one of himself and one Sam next to the lamp. This was Narim’s room.

Confusion filled him. Why was he in Narim’s room? The last thing he could remember… was Dr. Frasier telling him he could go home…

And then the alarm went off, and Daniel -

“Daniel!” Nala cried, jumping out of the bed and going to the door. 

It opened before he got there, and Narim stepped inside. 

“Nary, where is Daniel?” Nala asked frantically.

“Nala…” The sadness in Narim’s eyes said more than words could.

“No…” Nala whispered. “He… he’s gone?”

Narim pulled him close as he began to tremble. “He’s still with us… but just barely. He doesn’t have much time left.”

Nala couldn’t speak for a moment, his body shaking.

“I… I want to see him,” Nala said.

“Nala, he’s in a lot of pain,” Narim said. “And barely conscious. He won’t be able to speak.”

“I don’t care,” Nala said. “I need to see him.”

Narim exhaled. “Okay.”

* * *

“Nala, he isn’t going to look the way he normally does,” Dr. Frasier explained. “And whatever you do, you can’t touch him. Not even his bandages.”

Nala swallowed and nodded. A moment later, Dr. Frasier opened the door and he stepped inside. 

Daniel lay unmoving on the bed, his body completely wrapped in bandages. He was unrecognizable.

Nala couldn’t stop his body from trembling once more as the tears pooled in his eyes.

“Daniel…” he whispered, his voice wavering. 

And then, quite suddenly he found it hard to breathe, like something was lodged in his throat. The world began to spin, and the floor was suddenly in his face.

“Nala?” Was Narim underwater? 

“He’s having a panic attack,” said Dr. Frasier’s voice. Something warm touched his palm. “Nala, if you can hear me, t…”

Nala squeezed his eyes shut. What was she saying?

Another voice reached Nala’s ears. “Daniel,” was all he heard over the din. The world around him became brighter.

There was something rubbing against his back, and Nala suddenly felt able to breathe in deeply. After he had taken several breaths, a familiar voice spoke to him.

“Nala?” asked Narim. “Can you hear me?”

Nala tipped his head in the direction of his brother’s voice. “Nary? What happened?”

“It’s alright, Nala,” said Narim, and Nala barely registered whispered voices a distance away from them. He couldn’t quite make out what they were saying. “You’re alright. Can you stand up for me?”

Nala nodded and Narim helped him come to a standing position. He looked around.

“Where is Daniel?” asked Nala, noticing the pile of bandages on the bed.

“He…” Narim paused for a moment, glancing at the others in the room. “We believe he ascended.”

A sense of calm washed over him, though he wasn’t sure where it came from.

“He’s alive,” Nala whispered.

“There are no guarantees,” said Sam. “But that’s our best guess. He’s out there, somewhere.”

“Will he come back?” asked Nala.

“We don’t know,” Narim said. “Nala, I think it’s best that we go home. You need to rest.”

Nala nodded and followed him out of the infirmary without argument, his mind still trying to make sense of it all. Daniel was gone, maybe not forever, but memories he'd buried from long ago were rising from the depths of his mind once again.

The earthquake... his parents were lying on the ground, red liquid seeping from underneath them. Their eyes were wide open, but when Nala called out to them they would not answer. And then Narim was there, grabbing his arm and making him follow him out of their home. 

They stepped outside to find a red, sunless sky. The noise was deafening. But somehow, they reached the ships. Nary gave Nala's hand to a woman - Nala's teacher, and then turned to leave. And Nala cried his name, but Narim did not come back. The ship took off without him.

Daniel was the reason Narim returned. Sam and O'Neill and Teal'c had helped, sure, but Nala had heard the entire story from Narim. Since he wasn't military, he couldn't be court-martialed, and Daniel had used this to his advantage to help Omoc and Narim and the others escape with the Nox. And then the Nox had helped the Tollan build a Stargate so that their people could return home. And Narim had begged his forgiveness, had done everything he could to make up for abandoning him. 

Nala, of course, had forgiven him. He loved his brother, and all he wanted was at least a part of his former life back. Narim had given him that. He'd been there for him ever since.

But so had Daniel. Daniel had taught him so much in such a short time. He had been Nala's first friend, not just on Earth, but in the entire universe. If there was anyone that Nala loved as much as his brother, it was Daniel.

Daniel went through the Stargate all the time. There was always a chance that he might not come back - there were many dangers in the universe, after all, and Daniel was known for putting his life on the line for any and everyone. Despite this, Daniel always returned. 

He always came back. He always found time to sit down and play a game with Nala.

But this was different. 

Even with all the assurances from SG-1 and the knowledge he had of ascension, one fact remained.

Daniel may never come home.


	4. Promise

“NOOO!” 

“Nala?” cried Narim, entering Nala’s room.

Nala was sitting upright in his bed, breathing hard. It had been four months since Daniel had ‘died.’ Nala had begun his senior year at Junior B-Cad, though he wasn’t as enthusiastically as before.

“Are you alright?” asked Narim.

Nala swallowed and took a deep breath. “Yes… It was just a bad dream.”

“About Daniel?” 

“Yes,” said Nala, looking away.

Narim sat down on the bed and laid his hand over Nala’s. “I know you miss him, Nala. It’s okay to be sad, even if he’s still technically alive.”

He blinked back tears and looked up at his brother. “I just want him to come back.”

“I know,” Narim said, pulling him close. “I know.”

Nala allowed himself to cry into Narim’s shoulder, and, eventually, he slipped into sleep again.

* * *

Nala blinked and rubbed his eyes. Writing essays had never bothered him before, but with the lack of sleep he’d had, it was growing more and more difficult everyday to complete his homework.

He sighed and pushed himself away from the desk in his rolling chair, and went to lay down on his bed. Closing his eyes, he willed himself to get some actual sleep.

“I always found it hard to sleep in jeans,” said a familiar voice.

Nala bolted upright, and found someone sitting at the end of his bed.

“Daniel?” 

Daniel Jackson smiled widely at him. “Hey, Nala.”

“Are you really here?” Nala asked, reaching for his hand but finding himself unable to touch him.

“Sort of,” he replied, an apologetic look on his face. “I don’t really have a physical body because I ascended, with the help of an Ancient named-”

“Oma Desala,” Nala finished. “I read about her in one of your journals.”

“Yes,” said Daniel. “The point is, you are not crazy. I am really here, just in an energy form. And I’m sorry I didn’t visit you sooner… I’ve had a lot to do and-”

“I get it,” said Nala. “You’re trying to save the galaxy… it’s Anubis, isn’t it?”

“You know way more than you’re cleared to know,” said Daniel, chuckling.

“Don’t tell anyone,” said Nala, picking up a cat toy and throwing it through him.

"Stop that!" cried Daniel, half-laughing.

"Not like you can feel it," Nala smirked.

Daniel was quiet for a minute. “You know, I’ve learned a lot through ascending… Half of it I won’t remember when I return… But what I don’t understand is what’s happening with you.”

Nala fidgeted with a stray thread on his blanket, and didn’t answer.

“I came here to see how you were doing. You’re grades are good, but not as high as they were last year…” Daniel said. “You’ve stopped playing D&D with your friends, and you haven’t touched the game you were programming in months. You didn't try out for basketball again, either. I know you’re not okay, Nala. Just tell me how I can help you.”

Nala looked up at him. “When are you coming home?”

“I don’t know,” Daniel admitted. “And I don’t know when I’ll be able to see you again, either.”

Nala took a deep breath. “I miss you.”

“I miss you, too,” said Daniel. “And I want to come home. I do. But I can’t abandon this mission. If I do, then there might not be a you for me to come back to.”

“I want to help,” Nala told him.

“You can,” said Daniel. “But you’re not ready yet. You need to be a kid for a little longer. Go out with your friends. Have fun. Go to college. You’re brilliant, Nala. You can be and do anything you want. If you want to work at the SGC, then you will. But you’re going to have to go the long way around. Even your brother went to school for years before he was recruited by Omoc.”

“That’s going to take forever,” said Nala.

“Rainbow Road takes forever, too,” Daniel said. “But I’ve never seen you fall off, even once.”

Nala rolled his eyes. “It’s very hard to fall off.”

“I respectfully disagree with you, but that’s not important right now,” Daniel said. 

Nala laughed.

“Now, that right there is what I wanted to hear,” Daniel said. “You deserve to laugh more, Nala.”

“You promise you’ll come back?” asked Nala, knowing he sounded like a little kid.

“It might take awhile, but yes, I will return,” Daniel assured him. “I am not going to abandon you.”

Nala nodded, wiping his eyes before any tears could form. 

“Just promise me something, too,” said Daniel. “That you will at least try to find some happiness.”

“I promise,” said Nala, and he meant it.


	5. Mending

“You’re a little taller than last year,” noted Narim, hanging stockings on the wall next to the television.

“Really?” asked Nala. “I didn’t know teenagers could get taller.”

“For that,” Narim said. “Your stocking might be empty on Christmas.” 

Nala pretended to be highly offended.

“Anyways, what I meant was you are tall enough to reach the top of the tree,” said Narim. “So you can put the star on.”

Nala looked at the tree, and wished, not for the first time, that Daniel was there to see him put the star on the tree.

“Or perhaps the tree is just shorter than last year,” Narim added.

Nala rolled his eyes and picked up the star. Careful not to bump the tree (which, really, was impossible), he stood on his tippy-toes and reached up to the top.

A shrill ring distracted him and he turned to watch Narim go to the house phone.

“Hello?” said Narim. “Yes… What? Yes, we can… Are you sure? Alright… we’re on our way.”

Narim had an odd look on his face.

“What’s wrong?” asked Nala.

“That was O’Neill. He wants us to go to the SGC immediately,” Narim explained, already grabbing his wallet and keys.

“Be safe,” said Nala, resigning himself to dinner alone.

“You’re coming, too, Nala,” said Narim. “O’Neill asked for both of us.”

Nala quirked an eyebrow at him, wondering what on Earth (or in the Milky Way) O’Neill would want him for. But he knew his brother did not have the answers he needed, and decided to hold his questions until they could be thoroughly answered.

* * *

Nala heaved a deep sigh and leaned back on the bed. The moment they’d arrived at the SGC, the general had asked Nala to stay in Narim’s quarters until they knew more about the situation. This, of course, annoyed him beyond belief, but there was nothing he could do. 

Narim had made him leave his phase band with the SGC when they’d first arrived on Earth, and he knew there was a guard posted outside his door, so there was no way he could escape.

All he had to cure his boredom were his textbooks from his first semester at the University of Chicago, as he’d brought his bag, or read through his brother’s small collection of novels on the bookshelf. He’d chosen the former option, as he didn’t feel like cracking open Plato or the Krishna.

Finally, after three hours and 12 minutes (yes, he timed it), Narim returned. Nala sat up as he came over and joined him on the bed.

“What is it?” asked Nala. “Has something happened?”

Narim nodded. “Yes, but for once, it is something good.”

Nala did not need many guesses. There was only one good thing that Nala would be brought to the SGC for. “Daniel has returned?”

Narim gave him a soft smile, unsurprised at his correct guess. “Yes, he has.” Before Nala could celebrate, he continued. “But there is a minor issue.”

“Is he hurt?” asked Nala, unable to hide the panic in his voice.

“No! No, he is fine, physically,” Narim assured him. “He’s lost his memory. He doesn’t know who he is or who all of us are.”

Nala had no words, and looked away. Daniel had forgotten him?

“There is hope, though,” Narim said. “But we are going to need your help.”

* * *

Nala hesitantly stepped inside the familiar study, with Sam just behind him. Normally, he would be marvelling at the collection of books and artifacts lining the walls. Today, he was distracted by the presence of two people sitting at the desk.

The first was Jonas Quinn, who was speaking rapidly about something on the screen between them. His companion seemed to be barely following. Perhaps under didn't circumstances, Nala would have really liked Jonas. But to him, Jonas and his people were the cause of Nala's pain. 

Jonas and the other man both looked up as Nala stepped closer, the former awkwardly smiling and moving away to look at something across the room. 

“Um… hello,” said Nala to the remaining man, who was staring at him. “I'm-”

“Nala,” said Daniel, standing up and immediately pulling the boy into a warm embrace.

“You remember me?” Asked Nala, wrapping his arms around Daniel's middle.

“Yes,” replied Daniel, pulling away to look at him. “Maybe not everything. But I know your name and I know you're important to me.”

“I missed you, Daniel,” Nala said.

Daniel didn't say anything, merely sitting down and inviting the other to join him. “You aren't from Earth, are you?”

Nala smiled and shook his head, as Sam motioned for Jonas to follow her out of the room. 

Daniel stood and grabbed a doll off a random shelf. “There was a picture of you in my room, but that's not how I remembered your name. This was.”

He handed the stuffed ginger cat to Nala. 

“It's Schrodinger,” said Nala. “You bought him for me.”

“I remember,” Daniel said, watching Nala turn the cat over. “You were sick and couldn't leave the base, and you missed your cat. So I found you a temporary replacement. You left him here in case you were ever sick again.”

Nala smiled and handed the cat back. “And you kept him.”

“Yeah,” said Daniel. “I didn’t want you to feel alone.”

There was a moment of silence between them as they both mulled over things in their minds. Finally, Nala said, “I’m glad you’re back, Daniel.”

Daniel smiled. “Me, too… And correct me if I’m wrong, but I think I owe you a race on Rainbow Road.”


	6. Dr. Caspari

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Part 2 is done. Part 3 is on the way, but I have a lot on my plate at the moment, so it'll be a wait. Definitely not as long as the wait between RWBY seasons (not angsty about that at all), but getting the third and final part of Nala's story up and going will take some time.
> 
> Thank you for your continued support.

“I’m fine, Narim,” Sam said. “Honestly, the day I can’t sit down in a chair on my own, you’ll be the first to know.”

Nala rolled his eyes at his brother’s overprotectiveness, though he understood it. When Sam sent Narim away to find one of her earrings upstairs, Nala turned to her.

Sam sighed. “I know, he’s just being a good husband, but sometimes I just need a little space.”

“Sam, you’re eight months pregnant,” Nala said, climbing down from the stepladder. “And for the Tollan, that would be considered an achievement. Most Tollan were born prematurely and required constant medical attention for the first three months of their life, sometimes the first year.”

“Really?” asked Sam, completely shocked. “I’m sorry… I had no idea…”

Nala shrugged. “My people made mistakes. I was the first second child in many generations. It was a miracle that both I and my mother survived.”

At that moment, Narim returned, reporting that he hadn’t found her earring. Sam shrugged it off, and told him to help Nala finish setting up for the party.

The front door opened, signalling Daniel’s arrival. It had been nearly four years since Daniel's return, and Nala had zoomed through his college years, CLEPing out of most of the general education courses and pre-requisites.

“There’s the good doctor,” said O’Neill by way of greeting. He and Teal'c had apparently hitched a ride with Daniel.

“Congratulations, Nala, son of Cren and Salina,” said Teal’c.

Nala grinned at Teal’c use of his Tollan name, and bowed in Tollan fashion. “Thank you, Teal’c.”

“Dr. Caspari does have a nice ring to it,” said Daniel, putting an arm around Nala’s shoulders and admiring his framed degree, which Nala had just hung up.

“And barely eighteen,” said O’Neill. “Exactly how does one get a P.h.D. before they’re even an adult?”

“Does it concern you that the kid is smarter than all of us, Jack?” asked Sam.

O’Neill sat down. “That’s General to you.”

Janet and Cassie, who was also in college and studying to be a surgeon, arrived next, followed by Colonel Mitchell and General Landry. Last came Nala’s best friends from high school, Mari and Gordon. They’d both gone into video game design at a university in Florida, and been hired by Microsoft right away to design games for the XBOX series.

Naturally, the conversation turned to games, and Nala asked what they were working on.

“Sorry, man,” Gordon said. “I wish I could tell you, but I’ve been sworn to secrecy. All I can say is that the next generation of video games is going to transform the entire industry.”

Nala glanced at Daniel, whose smile indicated he saw the irony in Gordon being ‘sworn to secrecy’.

“Oh, please,” said Mari, flipping her hair, which was a distracting shade of purple. “If it was a fully integrated virtual reality system, then yeah, that would be transformative. But all you’re doing is building a console that can run faster and better graphics and hold a larger amount of data.”

“Give away all our secrets, why don’t you?” said Gordon.

“You are so dramatic.”

“Says the girl who freaks out the moment she sees her root color coming in,” Gordon retorted.

“Well, excuse me, but faded color and visible root color are extremely unprofessional.”

“Wow, I didn’t realize the hair-dying community had such standards.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” 

“If I have to step in and diffuse the situation here,” Nala interrupted. “Then I’m just going to kick you both out.”

“Sorry, Casper,” said Gordon. Mari apologized, too, without the nickname.

The conversation turned to other things, including Narim and Sam’s baby.

“We want the gender to be a surprise,” Sam explained after Mari asked. “The nursery theme is Pooh Bear, so it’s completely gender neutral.”

“Oh, that’s adorable!” cried Mari. “Are you ready for it?”

“As ready as we’re going to be,” said Sam. “The house is prepared, the nursery is done. I’ve got Janet to help with medical everything, and Narim is taking four weeks off.”

“I thought only women could do that,” said Gordon. “My buddy’s wife just had their first kid and he wasn’t given any paternity leave.”

“Depends on your employer,” said O’Neill. Nala quickly changed the subject, knowing there was no way to explain all of their involvement with the air force. 

Eventually, Mari and Gordon had to go back to the hotel to rest in order to make it to their flight the next morning. They wished Nala the best of luck with his P.h.D. and called a taxi.

“Well, not to point out the obvious,” said Landry. “But with your friends gone, everyone in this room has enough clearance for this discussion.”

Nala straightened in his seat next to Daniel.

“Dr. Nala Caspari,” said Landry. “I know you’re probably expecting this, but I wasn’t allow to ask until you were eighteen. Now that you are, I can finally, officially, invite you to join the SGC. And with a P.h.D. in astrophysics, you’re more than qualified. I understand if you need some time to think about it.”

“Don’t worry, general. I’ve already decided,” said Nala. “The SGC is the only place I want to be.”

“We’re glad to hear that,” said Landry, shaking his hand. “You’ll be working under our lead scientist until you’ve got some experience under your belt-”

“Meaning, until you’ve saved everyone’s asses a few times,” O’Neill translated. 

“-and then you’ll have a whole galaxy of jobs to choose from.”

“Two if you count Pegasus,” said O’Neill, earning himself glares from Narim and Daniel.

“SG-1 will be one of those, by the way,” said Mitchell.

Nala smiled, knowing he would be happy practically anywhere in the universe, so long as he was making a difference.

**Author's Note:**

> I will say, Mariana and Gordon aren't going to get as much screen time as I want them to, so this chapter was partly dedicated to their character development.


End file.
